Defending Air Bases in an Age of Insurgency

AIR UNIVERSITY Defending Air Bases in an Age of Insurgency Shannon W. Caudill Colonel, USAF Air University Press Air Force Research Institute Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama Project Editor Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Dr. Ernest Allan Rockwell Caudill, Shannon W. Copy Editor Sandi Davis Defending air bases in an age of insurgency / Shannon W. Caudill, Colonel, USAF. Cover Art pages cm Daniel Armstrong Includes bibliographical references and index. Book Design and Illustrations ISBN 978-1-58566-241-8 L. Susan Fair 1. Air bases—Security measures—United States. 2. United States. Air Force—Security measures. Composition and Prepress Production 3. Irregular warfare—United States. I. Title. Vivian D. O’Neal UG634.49.C48 2014 Print Preparation and Distribution 358.4'14—dc23 Diane Clark 2014012026 Published by Air University Press in May 2014 AIR FORCE RESEARCH INSTITUTE AIR UNIVERSITY PRESS Director and Publisher Allen G. Peck Disclaimer Editor in Chief Opinions, conclusions, and recommendations expressed Oreste M. Johnson or implied within are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official policy or position of Managing Editor the organizations with which they are associated or the Demorah Hayes views of the Air Force Research Institute, Air University, Design and Production Manager United States Air Force, Department of Defense, or any Cheryl King other US government agency. This publication is cleared for public release and unlimited distribution. Air University Press 155 N. Twining St., Bldg. 693 Maxwell AFB, AL 36112-6026 [email protected] http://aupress.au.af.mil/ http://afri.au.af.mil/ AFRI Air Force Research Institute ii This book is dedicated to all Airmen and their joint comrades who have served in harm’s way to defend air bases. Colonel Caudill’s anthology on base defense and counterinsurgency has broad implica- tions for use by the joint and Total Force community that would have a lasting impact for our warriors. From my foxhole, the Air Force is making an enormous contribution to a much-needed dialogue on these critical subject areas. —Maj Gen Peter Aylward, Army National Guard, retired, former deputy commanding general, Iraq Security Forces at Multi-National Corps and special assistant to the chief of the National Guard Bureau ****** The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have proven the adaptability of Airmen in conflict, particularly in the area of air base defense. This book captures the lessons of those conflicts for the defense of air assets in a counterinsurgency environment. The authors have done the Air Force and joint community a service in examining and challenging the tenets of base defense and their future. —Maj Gen Mary Kay Hertog, USAF, retired, former director of Security Forces, Headquarters US Air Force, director of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office ****** Americans, especially Airmen, do not like fighting irregular warfare and are tempted to write such campaigns off as anomalies so they can return to conventional campaigns, with which they are much more comfortable. This book is an important part of the in- tellectual preparation needed for future irregular warfare campaigns, illustrating how to create the stable operating environment needed for air operations through sound air base defense practices. —Dr. William T. Dean III, associate professor of comparative military studies and counterinsurgency scholar, Air University’s Air Command and Staff College ****** I am thrilled that Air University Press has invested in this anthology that adds to the history of base defense and provides guideposts to future leaders charged with defending air operations in complex environments. —Brig Gen Allen J. Jamerson, USAF, director of Security Forces, Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, Installations, and Mission Support, Headquarters US Air Force ****** Counterinsurgency and irregular warfare must become part of our security forces train- ing if we expect to succeed in future conflicts. Lessons learned from the Iraqi and Af- ghan wars are critical to preparing the security forces career field for such future chal- lenges. Research conducted by leaders with practical experience in base defense operations will only improve our preparations. —Brig Gen Jimmy McMillian, USAF, retired, former director of Security Forces, Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, Installations, and Mission Support, Headquarters US Air Force iv Contents List of Illustrations vii Foreword ix About the Authors xiii Acknowledgments xxi Introduction xxv Shannon W. Caudill PART 1 HISTORICAL AND INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES 1 A Short History of Air Base Defense: From World War I to Iraq 3 Erik K. Rundquist 2 A Canadian Perspective on Air Base Ground Defense: Ad Hoc Is Not Good Enough 43 Paul M. Thobo-Carlsen 3 Air Support for Base Defense: Lessons for the Noncontiguous Battlefield 111 Robert D. Sagraves PART 2 CASE STUDY—BALAD AIR BASE, IRAQ 4 Defending the Joint Force: Lessons Learned from Joint Base Balad 199 Shannon W. Caudill, Anthony M. Packard, and Raymund M. Tembreull 5 The Defense of Joint Base Balad: An Analysis 217 Joseph A. Milner v CONTENTS PART 3 THERE IS NO “REAR AREA”: CHANGES TO AIR BASE DEFENSE IN A COUNTERINSURGENCY ENVIRONMENT 6 The Air Force’s New Ground War: Ensuring Projection of Air and Space Power through Expeditionary Security Operations 245 Robert H. “Bob” Holmes, Bradley D. Spacy, John M. Busch, and Gregory J. Reese 7 Sharpening the Eagle’s Talons: Assessing Advances in Air Base Defense Doctrine 263 David P. Briar 8 Setting the Right Glide Slope: Preparing the Air Force for the Next Counterinsurgency Campaign 281 Paul J. Kasuda PART 4 ORGANIZING FOR THE FUTURE 9 Nowhere to Hide: The Growing Threat to Air Bases 303 Shannon W. Caudill and Benjamin Jacobson 10 Law Enforcement and Base Defense: Improving Interoperability to Benefit the War Fighter 319 Shannon W. Caudill and Bryan A. Keeling 11 Conclusion: Ten Propositions on the Defense of Air Bases 339 Shannon W. Caudill and Christopher L. Corley Afterword 367 Dr. William T. Dean III Abbreviations 373 Bibliography 381 Index 411 vi Illustrations Figures 1.1 Distributed area defense doctrine 17 2.1 Airfield attack objectives, 1940–1992 52 2.2 Air base attack tactics, 1940–1992 52 2.3 Standoff weapon footprints 56 2.4 RAF Regiment field squadron organization 75 2.5 Objektschutzregiment der Luftwaffe organization 79 2.6 RAAF airfield defense squadron organization 82 4.1 Comparison of attacks on Joint Base Balad to those on all US air bases in the Vietnam theater 203 5.1 JBB with named areas of interest depicted around the installation 222 5.2 332nd ESFG organizational chart 223 5.3 Number of rounds fired per attack in Vietnam 232 5.4 Number of rounds fired per attack at JBB 232 5.5 Median monthly attacks and attack intervals 235 on Joint Base Balad 5.6 Increasing insurgent miss distance as captured by the warning system 235 5.7 Power law (number=450*[days]-1.087) of deterred attack intervals 237 5.8 Medians give stable attack interval trends, and averages give increasing errors of attack intervals 238 vii CONTENTS 6.1 Emerging joint nonlinear battlefield 250 6.2 Notional base boundary 251 6.3 Notional area of interest and base boundary 252 6.4 Typical BDOC organization 253 6.5 Proposed Air Force battle stations 256 8.1 JBB COIN synchronization structure 294 8.2 332nd AEW organization structure 295 Tables 2.1 Deployable air force platforms and support elements 49 2.2 Typical standoff weapons 54 2.3 Nonstate groups with MANPADS, 1996–2001 55 2.4 AIRCOM risk severity map for FY 06/07 57 2.5 Relative size of allied air force ground-defense forces 99 viii Foreword This century will be characterized by a volatile international political environment, persistent conflict, and internal strife. Regional tensions will continue to create uncertainty, resulting in political dynamics ripe for civil war, political upheaval, sectarian violence, and insurgency. This is the environment in which we will conduct air operations for decades to come; as such, leaders will have to understand the complexity of the situation and how best to influence the battle- space adjacent to air bases. To prepare for future contingencies and enable air operations, the Air Force must grow new air base defense leaders and build capabili- ties that rapidly adapt to crises, especially in an ever-evolving, asym- metric operational environment. There are three components to improving base defense operations in such uncertain circumstances. First, we must develop leaders who understand and are competent in the craft of base defense in varying environments. Second, we must invest in innovative and rapidly deployable base defense assets and technologies that are also adaptable to the changing operational environment. And third, we must advocate integrated defense concepts to all Airmen and joint/coalition personnel. Producing leaders who can create and lead “learning” organizations capable of adapting to the dynamics of a constantly changing irregular warfare environment is critical to enable airpower in future contingencies. This requires mentorship of subordinates, self- development through studying counterinsurgency (COIN) and other publications on irregular warfare, and creating an environment of trust and smart risk-taking up and down the chain of command. As I write this, we are still fully involved in finishing important work in Afghanistan. We must invest our time in creating leaders at all levels that are not only tactically proficient but also judicious and intelligent in restraining the application of combat power in order to gain and maintain trust with the local populations surrounding American and allied air bases. In addition to cultivating smart, adaptable leaders, we also need to develop competent tactical leaders capable of defending air bases in these uncertain environments. Small-unit leadership has been and will continue to be the cornerstone of tactical effectiveness.

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